Aging Out of Crime and Personality Development: A Review of the Research Examining the Role of Impulsiveness on Offending in Middle and Late Adulthood.

Virtually everything we know about the relationship between impulsivity and offending is confined to adolescence and early adulthood. There is a paucity of research that examines impulsivity and offending in middle and late adulthood. What little is known is covered in this review. There are normative declines in offending, but it remains quite common in middle and late adulthood. This challenges the notion that the majority of offenders age out of crime by middle age. There are also normative declines in impulsivity, consistent with the maturity principle of personality development. While impulsivity is associated with offending (and other externalizing behaviors) in middle and late adulthood, preciously little evidence exists that speaks to whether the declines in impulsivity are causally related to decreases in offending. Various suggestions are offered for future research that can better address this notable void in the literature.

Psychopathy and Perception of Vulnerability to Criminal Victimization.

This study replicates and extends prior research indicating that individuals with elevated psychopathic traits are better able to identify vulnerability to criminal victimization. Specifically, the current study aims to further assess this finding, examine if criminal experience aids in the assessment in vulnerability to criminal victimization, and determine if the finding generalizes to females and non-Caucasians. Through an online survey, participants (undergraduate students; n = 247) viewed several videos of people walking alone down a hallway and subsequently rated the vulnerability to criminal victimization of the depicted person. Higher levels of psychopathic traits (measured by the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment) correlated with more accurate assessments of vulnerability when males were assessing videos of males of their same race. Prior criminal behavior, however, did not relate to better accuracy, despite its relation to psychopathic traits. Results for females were not consistent with findings for males, indicating the finding may not generalize across gender. The current findings suggest one mechanism that might explain why those with elevated psychopathic traits are more likely to offend is that they are adept at identifying vulnerability. However, this was only true for males of the same race as the "victim."

Perspective Differences in Trial Process: A Comparison of Judges, Juries and Litigants.

Classic studies on judge-juror agreement have converged on the finding that judges and jurors agree on the outcomes in most cases (71-75%). This study extends these findings by comparing trial process evaluations of judges, jurors and litigants in actual civil trials. The results suggest that judges and juries largely overlap in their perceptions of trial process measures (e.g. case complexity). However, judicial and jury perceptions often differ from litigants' perceptions. The way in which different perspectives of the trial process predict satisfaction with the outcome is also explored. Litigant, but not judicial or jury, perceptions of the trial process were found to predict satisfaction. These results support past research concerning judge-juror agreement, but suggest there is less agreement between objective (i.e. judges and jurors) and subjective (i.e. litigants) perspectives of the trial process.

Interfacing five-factor model and triarchic conceptualizations of psychopathy.

The lexically based five-factor model (FFM) of personality has been a highly influential research framework for characterizing clinical-psychological conditions, including psychopathy, in lexical-trait terms. An alternative trait-descriptive framework, the triarchic model was formulated to characterize psychopathy in neurobehavioral-trait terms, in order to facilitate linkages with variables in the domain of neurobiology. The current study used data from a mixed-gender sample (N = 769; M age = 19.3) to establish an interface between the FFM and triarchic frameworks by identifying subsets of items from a widely used five-factor personality inventory, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), that effectively index the dimensional constructs of the triarchic model (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition). A consensus rating and psychometric refinement approach was used to select NEO-PI-R items for assessing each triarchic dimension, and the resulting NEO-Tri item-sets ("scales") were evaluated in relation to criteria including other scale measures of the triarchic constructs, reported antisocial behavior and drug/alcohol use, and an FFM-generated omnibus psychopathy measure, the Psychopathy Resemblance Index. The NEO-Tri scales were also evaluated for effectiveness as indicators of latent triarchic dimensions within a confirmatory factor analysis anchored by previously validated triarchic scale measures. Results of this work have implications for clarifying how the triarchic model dimensions relate to normal-range personality traits and FFM-based conceptions of psychopathy, and provide a foundation for further examining neurobiological correlates of the triarchic model dimensions using existing multidomain data-sets that include the NEO-PI-R. (PsycINFO Database Record

Social learning and self-control: assessing the moderating potential of criminal propensity.

Social learning theory is one of the most prominent general theories of crime. Yet recent research has called into question its applicability to all offenders. Specifically, the influence of antisocial peers has been found to exert a stronger effect among those individuals evincing higher levels of criminal propensity (deemed social amplification), whereas other components of the theory have either not been shown to interact with criminal propensity or not been tested. This study examines several social learning theory components to determine whether its influence is dependent on an individual's level of self-control. Results suggest little support for the social amplification hypothesis as the components of social learning theory were found to operate similarly across individuals regardless one's level of self-control. Implications for criminological theory are discussed.

Psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors: a comparison of self- and informant reports in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors.

It has long been assumed that features associated with psychopathy, such as a lack of insight and deceitfulness, may compromise the utility of self-report measures, particularly for understanding the relations between these traits and important outcomes (e.g., offending). Unfortunately, little research has explicitly examined the relations between self- and informant reports of psychopathy and their relations to these outcomes. The current study examined the incremental validity of self- and informant reports of psychopathic traits, assessed with 3 validated psychopathy measures, in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors (EBs). To reduce shared method variance, self- and informant reports of EBs (i.e., substance use, antisocial behavior, gambling, and intimate partner violence) were examined separately. Results indicate that both self- and informant reports of psychopathy are related to EBs and provide some degree of incremental validity, although self-reported psychopathy scores proved slightly more useful than other-reported psychopathy scores. These findings suggest that, in nonforensic settings, psychopathy data derived from both self- and other-reported psychopathy measures have utility in understanding the relations between psychopathic traits and EBs.

The roles of social bonds, personality, and perceived costs: an empirical investigation into Hirschi's "new" control theory.

Hirschi's reconceptualized control theory suggests that social bonds serve as the primary inhibitors to delinquency and that personality-based self-control (PBSC) is not relevant. He also indicates that the number of inhibitors, multiplied by their salience, influences the perceived costs of delinquency. These claims have not been widely tested. Using a large, school-based sample of adolescents, the authors test Hirschi's reconceptualization and find that certain inhibitors (e.g., parental monitoring) are more important than others (e.g., maternal attachment). There are also unique types of costs (e.g., parental costs, peer costs) with differential impacts. Salience exerts a main effect, but there was little evidence to suggest it interacts with costs. Finally, PBSC has the strongest effect. These findings not only offer support for some of Hirschi's claims but also provide directions to better formulate a more comprehensive and empirically supported control theory.

Psychopathic traits from the perspective of self and informant reports: is there evidence for a lack of insight?

It has been suggested that psychopathic individuals are incapable of providing valid reports on their own personality functioning because they are either unwilling (i.e., pathologically lie) or unable (i.e. lack insight) to do so. Despite the long-standing nature of this suggestion, almost no empirical research exists on this topic. In the current study, the authors examined the issue of psychopathy and insight by testing self and informant convergence and mean level differences across 3 indices of psychopathy in a community sample (N=64). Self- and informant-report psychopathy scores were also examined in relation to self and informant reports on traits from the Five-Factor Model (FFM). Convergence was strong across the 3 psychopathy indices and their respective factors (i.e., median r=.64), and there was only modest evidence that individuals rated themselves as less psychopathic than did informants. In addition, the same FFM domains-low Agreeableness and Conscientiousness-characterized individuals with psychopathic traits regardless of reporter. Psychopathic individuals appear capable of reporting accurately on psychopathic traits when there are no direct consequences to accurate reporting (i.e., sentencing). It may be that the lack of concern for the consequences of these traits has been mistaken for a lack of insight into them.

Self-reported psychopathic traits and their relation to intentions to engage in environmental offending.

The extent and impact of white-collar offending has drawn the attention of many researchers. However, despite its association with both general and violent criminal behavior, the role that psychopathic traits plays in white-collar crime has been researched less. In an effort to better understand this relationship, psychopathic personality traits were assessed among a sample of 265 undergraduate students using the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised, along with attitudes supportive of environmental offending and intentions to engage in a specific form of environmental offending (toxic dumping). The current study assessed if psychopathic traits were associated with intentions to engage in toxic dumping, as well as the extent to which attitudes supportive of environmental offending would mediate this relationship. Results suggest that both attitudes and certain traits associated with psychopathy uniquely explain intention to engage in toxic dumping. However, a mediating effect was not found. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Exploring the utility of an estimation procedure to reveal drug use among arrestees: implications for service delivery.

One of the most persistent questions plaguing researchers and service providers is how to best estimate the extent of targeted behaviors in relevant populations. One problem of particular importance is the prevalence of drug use in justice-involved populations. Data have been collected through such methods as self-report and analysis of biological specimens, although both have notable limitations when used alone. As a means of drawing on the strengths of both methods, such data can be used in a confirmatory manner or, alternatively, may be summed to estimate prevalence. However, this latter approach is not without difficulty as different sources lack substantial agreement. The focus of this study is to employ a methodology that utilizes multiple data sources and adjusts for nonreporting from either source. Compared to more commonly employed techniques, the results indicate that the alternative method yields higher estimates of marijuana and cocaine use among a sample of arrestees. These findings, in turn, suggest that current behavioral health interventions and policies may be based on underestimates of drug use.

Externalizing behavior through the lens of the five-factor model: a focus on agreeableness and conscientiousness.

We examined relations between the Five-factor model (FFM) domains and facets of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, hypothesized behavioral manifestations of these traits (e.g., social information processing and delay discounting), and externalizing behaviors in an undergraduate sample. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were differentially related to the externalizing behaviors and the laboratory tasks, which in turn evinced significant relations with externalizing behaviors. The personality facets displayed evidence of modest incremental validity over the broader domains and were related to the externalizing behaviors even when controlling for the social information processing and behavioral discounting variables. In general, the results support the validity of the FFM domains and facets, particularly Agreeableness, in the prediction of a variety of externalizing behaviors.

Juvenile psychopathy and judicial decision making: an empirical analysis of an ethical dilemma.

In the burgeoning juvenile psychopathy literature, there is a debate on whether it is appropriate to apply this construct to youths. Some have suggested that labeling children/adolescents as psychopathic might result in negative consequences, such as being recommended for more restrictive placements. However, the scant evidence is equivocal. This study provides additional insights on this issue by assessing judicial perceptions and recommendations to a hypothetical case. Results indicate that psychopathy influenced perceptions of amenability (eta = .12) and dangerousness (eta = .25), and recommendations for placement (eta = .11). More specifically, youth who were both labeled as psychopathic and ascribed psychopathic traits were viewed as less amenable to treatment and more dangerous and were more likely to be recommended for a restrictive placement than youth who were neither labeled nor described as such. The effect of psychopathy on placement recommendations, however, was not significant after controlling for perceptions of dangerous. This suggests that the influence of psychopathy on judicial restrictiveness may operate through the perceived dangerousness of the youth.

Investigating different factor structures of the psychopathy checklist: youth version: confirmatory factor analytic findings.

There has been a recent push to extend the construct of psychopathy into adolescence, primarily as a result of the impressive reliability, validity, and utility of this construct in samples of adults. The value of this work rests, however, on creating an equally reliable and valid assessment tool for adolescents. One promising measure is the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, 2003). The current study uses a large, diverse sample of serious adolescent offenders to assess the overall fit of various underlying factor structures of this measure and to test the equivalence of these models across sex and race/ethnicity. The results suggest that either a 3- or 4-factor model provides the best overall fit and that these models are invariant across sex and race/ethnicity. The decision to use the 3- or 4-factor model will likely hinge on researchers' underlying conceptualization of psychopathy, specifically whether antisocial behavior is viewed as a core feature of this construct.